Polar Vortex: Winter Is Coming Very Early This Year

A polar vortex is going to bring extremely frigid temperatures and Arctic blasts in the United States this weekend, if weather warnings are accurate. Americans should begin bracing and preparing now for temperatures to drop 20 degrees below normal. A polar vortex is expected to dump snow and send freezing air blowing around the country in the coming days.

The mild fall temperatures are expected to end on Sunday. Bundling up when going outside for even short periods of time and being prepared to combat hypothermia and frostbite when going into the woods to hunt, chop wood, or ride horses is being highly recommended. A first aid or survival kit kept in vehicles in case of an accident or being stuck on the road due during winter storms is also highly advisable.

After Sunday, a “pocket” of extremely cold air is expected to his both the Central and Eastern Unite States. The icy weather will remain, impacting America until the following Friday, if the winter weather alert is accurate. A polar vortex is a “massive cyclone” that encircles Earth’s geographical poles. In the Northern Hemisphere, a polar vortex reportedly often possesses two extremely cold low pressure centers – one over the northeast region of Siberia in Russia and the other near Baffin Island in Canada.

On occasion, the frigid air inside a polar vortex ventures further south than normal, and prompts unusually cold weather outbreaks in the United States and Canada. Portions of New England from Maine to New York could see substantial snowfall during the polar vortex.

“Areas from the northern and central Plains to the Great Lakes, the upper Gulf Coast and the Appalachians will feel significant impact from the arctic outbreak,” AccuWeather long range expert Paul Pastelok said. “A borad area of snow on the ground would result in significantly lower temperatures.”

The areas expected to be hit the worst during the polar vortex are the regions around Fargo, North Dakota, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Minneapolis, and Chicago. Single digit temperatures in portions of the Upper Midwest and the northern Plains regions are also predicted for the polar vortex expected to hit on Sunday. Frigid air passing over the still relatively warm waters of the Great Lakes is expected to bring snow and squalls from the Upper Midwest to the interior Northeast.

A chill during the day and unseasonably cold nights are expected to be felt along the Atlantic Seaboard late next week and into the weekend.

It appears all the “willy worms” with dark coats might have been accurate predictors of the cold winter yet to come. How will you prepare for the polar vortex and the chilly months months still to come in the winter of 2014-15?